Display device



H. 0. BROWN DISPLAY DEVICE 'Dec. 29, 1936.

Filed March 6, 1935 nae/who's r Q J I|||||Il Patented Dec. 29, 1936 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 19 Claims.

This invention relates to mechanical attractions especially for stores and in particular to a musical display device for seasonal exhibition as at Christmas time in which a figure representing a robed organist simulates playing on an organ,

in a pleasing and life-like manner.

A universal objection to many mechanical toys is the presence of a jerky, uneven movement far from life-like. Some inventors have tried to '-overcome this fault by making the movements absolutely smooth and regular but this in turn is also unnatural and produces an inanimate monotonous effect which is not pleasing. Therefore the main object of this invention is to provide a mechanical figure having pleasing animated movements which are neither mechanically jerky nor monotonously inanimate.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a figure which closely simulates the movements of a human being in playing a musical instrument such as a piano or an organ. Another object is the provision of a figure which has a smooth and non-jerky motion when operated by a simple mechanical means such as a crank.

Still another object is to provide an attractive front for a radio or phonograph before which a mechanical figure moves as if playing the instrument represented by the front and to provide a simple mechanical device for translating the ro- Figure 1 is a perspective View of a pipe organ and a player operating the same in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the mechanism used to operate the players hands and feet;

Figure 3 is a view of a modified detail. Referring to Figures 1 and 2, it wil be seen that the hands IU of the figure H are supported just above the keyboard I2 of the pipe organ I 4 by means of supports l5 and I6 which reciprocate toward and away from each other to give the figure the appearance of playing the organ. The supports preferably have upright pins H and i8 thereon to be received in sockets l1 and I8 provided in the hands I0 of the figure with sufficient looseness of engagement to give the desired lost motion. The feet 20 of the organist II similarly engage supports 22 and 23 located under the keyboard in about the same relative position as the ordinary foot pedals of an organ. When thesepedals or supports are operated out of unison with the upper supports they give the feet of the doll a movement simulating closely that of a real player.

I have discovered that the jerky movement so common in mechanical toys is still further eliminated by providing yielding pads 24, preferably of sponge rubber, between some and preferably all the joints of the figure. The torso 32 of the organist is secured to a rocker 30 and is'held in a yieldingv upright position on the bench 26 by means of elastic cords 28 so as to provide alimited amount of freedom. A still simpler form is to afiix the sponge rubber cushion 34 to the block 30 and the bench 26 as by suitable adhesive material.

The elastic cushion 34, preferably of "sponge rubber, is positioned between the rocker 30 and the bench 26 which construction permits the body of the figure to sway slightly while the hands and feet are being moved which swaying makes the playing remarkably realistic. The thighs and legs 36 of the figure are joined together and are secured to the rocker by means of elastic cords 38 of usual construction and the upper and lower portions of the arms are held together and to the body 32 by means of similar elastic cords or tendons 39.

In the rear of the organ is arranged a device for giving the supports l5, I6, 2-2 and 23 different harmonic motions so that, while the hands and feet of the organist shall move in unison, these movements shall not always be in the same. di-

rection or at the same speed. As will be seen in Figure 2, the diagonally positioned supports l5 and 23 are connected together by means of the sloping member 4|] and that similarly, opposite supports l6 and 22 are connected together by the sloping member 42 which crosses member 40. The supports in the present instance are shown as connected to tubular sliders 44 which are con strained to move in parallel paths by the rails or bars 46 rigidly secured one above the other in the uprights 48, this being the preferable construction.

Each pair of diagonally connected supports, one member operating an arm and the other operating a foot, is adapted to be given harmonic motion by its respective connecting rod 50 or 5] in response to rotation of a double crank 52 which may be operated by the motor of a phonograph or any other available means. In practice I use the organ front as a screen or shield for a phonograph 54 and drive the crank 52 by means of a belt 55 which encircles a pulley 56 driven by the phonograph motor and a second pulley 51 on the crank shaft. Obviously the crank may be actuated by any other means without changing my invention. The rod 50 pivoted to the sloping member 42 somewhat above its center is connected to the middle arm 59 of the crank while the corresponding connecting rod is connected to a point somewhat below the center of the diagonal member 40 and is pivoted to the end 58 of the crank which may be of the same or different length than the middle arm 59 of this crank, but preferably the two arms are of somewhat different lengths so that the travel of the diagonal members 40 and 42 are likewise different, the left or bass arm of the figure having a greater length of travel than the right or treble arm, or vice versa, if desired.

In Figure 3 is shown a modified form of support for the doll which is more economical than the bench and eliminates the necessity of the rocker and rubber cushion. The torso 32 of the figure may be rigidly secured to the top of the piano stool 63 which is supported by a helical spring 64 to permit limited motion of the doll.

As illustrated in Figure l the figure is pleasingly represented as a girl organist whose robe is in front of the bench as in the figure but may hide the helical spring 64 in the modified and simpler form shown in Figure 3. It will be understood that while the invention covers the entire combination illustrated and also equivalent structures I- also intend to protect the individual items as well, for example, a figure with stationary legs but employing the arm movement shown.

The movement of the arms and legs of the figure can probably be best understood by assuming that the middle arm 59 of the crank is directly above the shaft of the pulley 51, at which time the end 58 is projecting to the right as seen in Figure 2 so that the connecting rod 5| is slightly above the central pivot of the crank. Assuming the pulley 51 is turning clockwise, the left hand support I5 is at one limit of its motion as the end arm 58 is about on dead center. The right hand support I6 and with it the left foot support 22 will be moving toward the right at almost its highest speed. Just prior to the position shown in Figure 2 the two connecting rods are nearly parallel and both hands and both feet are moving to the right. In the position shown the end 58 of the crank is pointing to the right, the left hand support l5 and the right foot support 23 are at a dwell and consequently substantially stationary as the rod 5| is at dead center. At such time, however, the right hand and left foot of the figure are moving to the right at approximately maximum speed;

At 90 from the position shown the right hand support I6 has reached the right limit of its travel but the left hand is still moving to the left. From this point on both hands and both feet of the figure are moving to the'left at approximately the same rate of speed and this movement continues until 180 of travel from the position shown in Figure 2 at which time the connecting rod 5| is again on dead center and consequently the left hand support |5 and the right foot support 23 have reached their left hand end of travel and are substantiallystill altho the other hand and the other foot of the figure are moving toward the left at'maximum speed. From this point back to 360 the two hands of the figure are approaching each other but'the feet are moving away from each other. Because of the crossed position of the diagonal members 40 and 42 the two hands of the figure will be closest together when the feet are farthest apart as at 5( and likewise, thehands will be farthest apart when the feet are closest together as at 230. While in some of the models I drive the connecting rods 50 and 5| by cranks revolving at different speeds, it will be noted that practically the same effect is had by the simpler mechanism illustrated in Figure 2 in which, as just shown, the hands of the figure are sometimes moving in the same direction and are sometimes moving in opposite direction and one hand will be moving at almost maximum speed when the other hand is substantially still, thus simulating quite closely the movement of thehands of a living organist.

What I claim is:

'1. In combination, a figure having two independently movable arms, means for moving one of said arms in a chosen path at varying speeds, and means for moving the other of said arms in a second chosen path, the movement of the second arm being sometimes in the direction of the movement of the first arm and sometimes moving in opposite direction to the first arm.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the two arms move in substantially horizontal paths. 7

3. The. device of claim 1 in which the two arms of the figure movein parallel paths which partially overlap and in which each of the arms moves while the other arm is relatively stationary.

4. In combination, a figure having two independently movable arms and two independently movable legs, means for moving the arms and legs of said figure in chosen paths so that the arms of said figure will sometimes move in the same direction and sometimes move in opposite directions, and the feet of the figure will sometimes move in the same directions and shall sometimes move in opposite directions.

5. The device of claim 4, in which the two arms move in a substantially horizontal plane and the two legs of the figure move in a substantially horizontal plane.

6. The device of claim 1 in which the figure has a resiliently supported upright body and the arms are pivoted to the body of the figure whereby the body of the figure will sway as the hands are moved in opposite directions and causing the head of the figure to move forward and backward with the body.

7. The device of claim 4 in which the body of the figure is resiliently supported on a fixed seat and the arms of the figure are pivoted to the shoulders of the figure, and the hands of the figure being constrained by said means to move in fixed and substantially'straight parallel paths located in a plane which is at a fixed distance from said seat whereby as the arms of the figure are spread apart the head of the figure will move forwardly and when the two arms are moving in the same direction the body of the figure will sway sideward by the yielding of the resilient mountmg.

8. The device of claim 4 in which the arms of the figure are resiliently secured to the shoulders of the figure, the legs of the figure are resiliently secured to the lower part of the body of the figure, and the body of the figure is mounted on a fixed support, and a resilient cushioning means is provided between the body and the body support whereby the various movements of the arms and legs will cause the body of the figure to sway forward and backward and. from side to side.

9. An automatic musical instrument, a shield for said instrument representing a different musical device having a keyboard, a figure having independently movable hands and feet, means for supporting the hands above the keyboard in playing position, pedals under the keyboard for supporting the feet in playing position, means for moving the hand supports toward and away from each other along the keyboard and for simultaneously moving the pedals with the feet whereby the figure appears to play the device as the musical instrument plays music.

10. A simulation of musical instrument having a keyboard, a figure seated in front of said keyboard, pedals under the keyboard for supporting the feet of the figure, and means for moving the hands of the figure in horizontal paths along the keyboard to simulate playing.

11. A musical toy comprising a screen shaped to simulate the front of a pipe organ and having a keyboard, and having horizontal slots above the keyboard, a pair of supporting means projecting thru said slots and having their ends located immediately above the keys of the keyboard, a bench for supporting a figure in front of the keyboard, means for connecting the hands of the figure to the ends of said supporting means, and means at the rear of the screen for moving said supporting means toward and away from each other whereby the figure appears to be playing the organ.

12. The device of claim 11 in which said screen has horizontal slots below the keyboard and a pair of pedals projecting thru the slots for supporting the feet of the figure, diagonal bars connecting the pedals at the back of the screen to said hand supporting means whereby the feet move toward each other as the hands move away from each other and vice versa thus giving the doll life-like motion.

13. A commercial display comprising a screen adapted to be placed in front of a music producing appliance, said screen having a keyboard and otherwise simulating the front of a pipe organ, a seat in front of the screen for supporting a figure in a sitting position, a loose jointed figure on said seat and having its arms arranged in a key playing position, a support for holding each hand of the figure above the keys, the legs of the figure being arranged under the keyboard in a pedal operating position, pedals for supporting the figures feet, said screen having apertures for accommodating the pedals and hand supports to permit the same to be moved in paths parallel to the keyboard, means behind the screen for constraining the supports and the pedals to move in said paths and a rotating member for giving motion to said supports and pedals, whereby said figure appears to play the organ in a life-like manner.

14. In combination, a figure, a mechanical means for moving the limbs of the figure, a bench,

a rocker secured to the torso of the figure, a resilient cushion between the rocker and the bench and resilient means for holding the figure in an upright sitting position on the bench whereby movement of the limbs by said mechanical means causes the figure to sway slightly in a life-like manner.

15. In combination, a crank having two arms, a connecting rod secured to each arm, two upper members constrained to move in chosen paths, two lower members constrained to move in chosen paths, a diagonal connecting one upper member with one lower member, a second diagonal connecting the other upper member with the other bottom member, and means joining the free ends of the two arms to the said diagonals respectively.

16. The device of claim 15 in which one arm of the crank is of greater radial length than the other.

17. In a musical toy, the combination of a doll and a musical instrument having akeyboard, means for supporting the doll in an upright position before said keyboard, means horizontally and reciprocably movable above said keyboard for supporting the hands of the doll tosimulate playing movements, and lost motion connections between the hands of the doll and said hand supporting means whereby there is a slight life like dwell of the hands at each end of the playing motions.

18. In combination with an automatic musical instrument, a shield for said instrument representing a diiferent musical device and having a keyboard, a doll in front of said keyboard and having a body pivotally supported for oscillation, arms connected to said body and having hands supported adjacent said keyboard and means operatively connected to said instrument for reciprocating one of said hands in a horizontal path along the keyboard whereby the body of the doll is caused to sway in unison with the movement of the reciprocating hand to thus simulatethe playing of said different musical instrument during the operation of said automatic instrument.

19. In combination with a phonograph, a screen for hiding the phonograph, said screen shaped to simulate the front of a pipe organ and having a keyboard, means for supporting a doll in front of said keyboard, a doll on said support and having hands supported adjacent said keyboard, and means for reciprocating at least one of said hands in a horizontal path adjacent the keyboard, said reciprocating means being actuated by the phonograph motor whereby the doll appears to be playing the pipe organ when the phonograph is operating.

HERBERT 0. BROWN. 

